Apologies if posted in the wrong forum....

I followed a hardwire GPS tutorial and was wondering, when using a fuse tap, does it matter which side of the fuse the tap sits?

I'm an electrical retard so again, I apologize for asking what could be a dumb question

 

a fuse is a fuse either way you put electricity thru it. it doesnt matter.

 

Not a dumb question. It will work either way, but one way is safer than the other. If you put the GPS power *before* the fuse (the supply side), it will not be protected by the fuse - if something goes wrong on the circuit your GPS could get fried. If you put it *after* the fuse (the side that goes to the stuff being powered), it will be protected. You could easily test this by taking out the fuse and seeing which pole has power still - use a DC voltmeter.

 

gotcha.....thanks

 

BTW is there any reason why some fuses are right side up and some are upside down?

I have a secondary inline fuse also, so it should protect my GPS from any issues right? I've got everything hooked up and it works like it should, I just want to make sure its safe. I HATE f-ing around with electricity, it just seemed too simple to pass up. As you can see I love to doubt myself.

 

If you have an inline fuse you should be fine then. I'd say for most fuses it shouldn't matter which way it's inserted.